OPINION

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By Lucy Ottley

Collegiate School has scheduled three “Asynchronous Learning Days” for the 2022-2023 school year. The first one was on November 7, the second one was on February 6, and the last one is on April 24.

Photo courtesy of Collegiate School.

Asynchronous day means that students do not have to work directly in front of teachers or on Zoom. Instead, they have the flexibility of when and where to complete assignments. Upper School Head Patrick Loach said, “The goal is to not let this be a day off from school. We need to accomplish something so we are not missing a day of school.” These days do count towards the required number of school days we have to have. Loach also said, “This mirrors what is happening right out in the workplace, that some people work remotely, but they can work asynchronously.”

I had not initially thought of an asynchronous day as replicating what many people in the workplace now do. However, after making that connection, I agree it is helpful practice for students to understand the importance of getting work done on their own, even if there is not someone telling them exactly what to do and when to do it. 

When the teachers first introduced asynchronous days, I was excited, because we did not have to go to school and could do our work on our own time. All these factors made it seem like this would be easier than a regular school day. On the first asynchronous day in November, many teachers and students were surprised that it was the opposite. For many students, their workload required being on a computer all day, which some students did not like. 

Photo credit: Vlastik Svab.

Tyler Stepanian (‘23) said that he disliked it because “it was a day where many students sit on their computers for eight hours straight.” On top of all the work we had to do, we also had homework assignments for that day and the day after in some classes, so in the end, it ended up being more work than a regular school day. 

The guidelines of this day were unclear for teachers and students. Some students assumed that we would turn in the work in the next class. However, some teachers assumed the students knew to turn it in at the end of the school day. It was also unclear which classes could assign work, so on the first asynchronous day, F period did not meet, but some teachers gave their F period classes assignments, which caused more work for the students. 

Upper School English teacher and Match advisor Vlastik Svab says, “I think the asynchronous days are an interesting concept, and as a teacher, I do appreciate that we could use the days for some professional development. I do get the sense that the first one was overwhelming, as both students and teachers were not sure what to expect for a workload.” The first asynchronous day did not go as I expected and was more stressful than I thought it would be, which made me not excited when the teachers told us we had another one in February.  

When the second asynchronous day occurred, the day’s logistics seemed better, because it seemed more organized, and more teachers were specific about what they wanted and expected. Many teachers were clearer on when we needed to turn in our assignments, which was helpful, because I did not need to keep track of specific times of the day when teachers wanted submissions.

Claiborne Dillard (’23) agrees and says, “Since they gave us the work before, it was easier to time manage all of the work.” Another thing that helped lessen the work was that teachers only assigned work if that class period met that day. McKenna Boardman (’24) says that she “feels she did not have as much work,” yet many people seem to have not had the same experience. However, class workload depends on a student’s schedule, including whether or not they are taking any Honors or AP classes. 

A group of girls socializing at school. Photo courtesy of Collegiate School.

Malone Morchower (‘23) says, “it takes the social part out of school, which is my favorite part. I do not want to do work only at home. During COVID, we sat in our houses and did work without friends or any social interactions, which reminds me of the asynchronous days, because it takes the ‘fun’ part out of school, which is being with friends.” 

I think this is the main reason why some students dislike asynchronous days. It brings back memories of quarantining at home in the spring of 2020, and that causes people to feel almost sorrowful because they are not getting that “social” interaction. 

Overall, I feel asynchronous days are not worth the effort for students. If the faculty needs a professional development day, that should still have one. However, the students should get a day off as well. I understand that these days count towards school days. However, if having to stay an extra three days into summer would mean not having asynchronous days, I think it would be worth it.